Melania
Trump delivers a speech on the first day of the Republican
National Convention.Jeff
Swensen/Getty Images

A Trump Organization staffer who helped Melania Trump craft her
primetime speech before the Republican National Convention
offered an apology Wednesday after the prepared remarks were
found to contain plagiarism.

"This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have
caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama," Trump
staff writer Meredith McIver said in a note. "No harm was meant."

"I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has
caused," she added.

The comments came two days after Melania Trump delivered her
speech at the RNC in which she
directly lifted passages from first lady Michelle Obama’s
2008 Democratic National Convention address.

McIver said that while working with Melania Trump the two
"discussed many people who inspired her."

"A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama," McIver said.
"Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama's
speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of
the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final
speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama's speeches."

McIver said that she offered her resignation, but that it was
rejected.

"Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we
learn and grow from these experiences," she said.

As a result, McIver said she insisted on making a statement
because she "did not like seeing the way this was distracting
from Mr. Trump's historic campaign for president and Melania's
beautiful message and presentation."

McIver added that she was "honored to work for such a great
family" and admired the way the Trumps "handled this situation."

Before she delivered her prepared remarks, Melania told NBC News
that she personally wrote her speech "with as little help as
possible." A Tuesday
report in The New York Times indicated that the Trump
campaign had commissioned two speechwriters to draft Melania's
speech, but that the draft was significantly changed by the time
she delivered it.

Donald Trump
commented on it for the first time Wednesday morning, saying
that Melania's speech "got more publicity than any in the history
of politics." He implied that, as a result, the scandal was a
blessing in disguise "if you believe that all press is good
press."